By Dipayan Ghosh, Hindustan Times
Are leading Internet firms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google, as operators of social media platforms, publishers of editorialised content (much like the Hindustan Times is), or are they indiscriminate platforms that offer open access to anything that you might wish to see?
The debate sounds nerdy at first — a sort of philosophical enquiry that should only concern professors and legal scholars as a matter of business regulation. But this seemingly narrow intellectual question is increasingly becoming a central matter of urgent concern in the context of Indian democracy — and, indeed, democracy and the free flow of information around the world. Foreign governments are moving to impose new responsibilities on dominant tech firms. Australia, for instance, is forcing Facebook and Google to pay news companies for displaying their stories; French antitrust officials have ordered Google to negotiate with local media firms to pay for displaying their content; and in the United States, a fierce political war rages on between liberals and conservatives on this very issue.
Let’s go back to that philosophical question for a moment, though. Publishers have always held a vaunted position in society. Traditional media formats — daily newspapers, broadcast television networks and radio stations — once consumed the public’s attention. My grandfather would comb through newspapers and news magazines every day, while my grandmother listened to the radio all day, every day — not uncommon for those of their generation. The result was that we came to know not only the voices and faces that graced these outlets, but the publishing houses and media personalities behind the businesses. This intense aura about the media ecosystem — a world that could make someone famous — gave news organisations great power. They had the power to convey the news — and with that power, came great responsibility.
As with any line of business, news organisations cannot be expected to necessarily and voluntarily demonstrate that responsibility — by, for instance, not spreading political falsehoods, hateful messaging, and other vitriol. To put it differently: Absent meaningful regulation, businesses operating in a free market economy, including media outlets, will do whatever they wish to maximise shareholder returns. Profit displaces social considerations.
Featured News
European Commission Appoints New Chief Competition Economist
Oct 2, 2024 by
CPI
EU Commission Requests Information from YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok on Algorithm Usage
Oct 2, 2024 by
CPI
Michael Jordan’s NASCAR Team Files Antitrust Suit Against Series, Claiming Unfair Practices
Oct 2, 2024 by
CPI
Novelist Sues Meta Over AI Use of Books
Oct 2, 2024 by
CPI
Judge Allows FTC Antitrust Case Against Amazon to Move Forward
Oct 1, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Refusal to Deal
Sep 27, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust’s Refusal-to-Deal Doctrine: The Emperor Has No Clothes
Sep 27, 2024 by
Erik Hovenkamp
Why All Antitrust Claims are Refusal to Deal Claims and What that Means for Policy
Sep 27, 2024 by
Ramsi Woodcock
The Aspen Misadventure
Sep 27, 2024 by
Roger Blair & Holly P. Stidham
Refusal to Deal in Antitrust Law: Evolving Jurisprudence and Business Justifications in the Align Technology Case
Sep 27, 2024 by
Timothy Hsieh